Wrath
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men" (Rm 1:18). "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" (Rev 6:17). The implications of God's wrath often strikes fear in our hearts.
What is the wrath of God? Well, to understand it we need to look where we can most clearly see it. "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities" (Is 53:5). If we want to see what the wrath of God is then we should look where it was most clearly manifest. Jesus experienced the wrath of God against sin on the cross, for He experienced it in our place. What then is the true nature of this wrath?
Many overlook Jesus agonizing cry, "My God, … why have you forsaken me", (Mk 15:34) as the ultimate expression of God's wrath. Though very human to see physical pain as the ultimate judgment, this is not what Jesus is concerned about here. The specter of wrath is seldom described with these words. It is more typical described by the fire of Revelation. Yet it is clearly the spiritual implications of separation from God that tore at the soul of our Lord. His life was cut short by something more than physical torment. His agonizing cry should warn us of the terrible and eternal implications of that separation. It should also be noted that that punishment was not active, it was passive.
In Romans 1 (vs. 24,26 and 28), speaking of the wrath of God, it states repeatedly that God gave them (sinners) up to the results of their evil choices. It would appear that this is the wrath of God -- separation from His love and care.
It is not God's desire to separate from those He loves. When the disciples sought to call fire down on the Samaritans, Jesus told them they had the wrong spirit (Lk 9:54-56). God pleads, "I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, . . . Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die?" (Ez 33:11). "How can I give you up?" (Hos 11:8).
The punishment of the wicked is the outworking of natural and spiritual laws (Jer 2:17&19, Gal 6:7). Paul's judgment of the immoral brother in the Corinthian church (I Cor 5:5) and Hymenaeus and Alexander (I Tim 1:20) was to expel them from the protection of God, handing them over to Satan. Separation from God allows satanic agencies to work their will. The plagues of Revelation result from God giving those who have refused His lordship the separation they have desired. When God withdraws His protection from those who have rejected it, Satan will be given full reign to vent his fury against God's creation (Is 14:20). This is the fearsome spectacle of Revelation.
If God's wrath is separation, are not the bowls (plagues) of Revelation 16, God pouring out that separation with the resultant consequences? Do not the trumpets (Rev 8-11) herald the end of time as God allows Satan and evil men to work their woe? Are not the seals (Rev 5-8:1) further manifestations of evil that will transpire prior to Jesus receiving the kingdom (symbolized by the scroll - deed).
It is not God who brings the disasters of Revelation. As sovereign, He takes responsibility for that which He allows. Even now it should be clear that it is the powers of darkness working through men that will release those plagues. Anthrax, plague, small pox, nuclear devastation, and asteroid strikes may very well be the picture portrayed in scripture. Who had been protecting Job and then allowed Satan to afflict him? Who bound the four evil angels in Revelation 9:14 and then released them to work their woe.
Sure, there are clear situations when God directly visits judgment on evil for the purpose of sending a message. Uzzah was struck dead when he knowingly acted contrary to God's clear command. If left unanswered, that challenge would have had a malignant effect resulting in a lock of respect and reverence for God. The children who mocked Elisha suffered judgment for similar reasons. David, as leader of Israel, was judged when he numbered Israel to see the extent of his human power. His faithless example to his people was not to go uncensored. Moses was judged for expressing anger when he struck the rock to which he was simply to have spoken. As a leader, he had misrepresented God. Then there was Herod, who was struck down for accepting the honor of a god.
Each situation presented in the Bible has an appropriate explanation consistent with love. We are asked to believe God's own description of Himself rather than a picture of Him simply striking out in anger and judgment at human error. "The Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty" (Ex 34:6&7). If God's wrath lashed out for every infraction there would be few standing to witness those judgments. God's patience is more often observed as we see His relations with a sinful world. How often are we appalled as we see another atrocity or heinous crime go without apparent comment by God?
Is not the specter of wrath seen in Revelation simply judgment backing the authority of the old covenant? This is equivalent to the guns, badges, and jails giving authority to those who enforce the law. What would it be like if there was nothing to back up the authority of the police?
We see God's wrath more clearly in His words to Israel. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate" (Matt 23:37&38).
The old covenant permeates scripture. It will never allow the impenitent to be free from the specter of judgment and wrath, or the condemnation of a guilty conscience. However to truly see God we must look beyond this necessary distortion.
Matt 25:26&27 speaks of a servant who misunderstood his master. "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.' " The warning is clear, if you think I am hard and demanding then you had better take your stewardship seriously.
Some will say, but that is not scriptural. On the Emmaus road Jesus opened to some of His followers the implications of the suffering servant of Isaiah. They had held to the prevailing understanding that the Messiah would be a conquering king; a position easily arrived at without the spiritual vision to see the alternative.
Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. Superficially, God portrays himself as a good, but wrathful enforcer of His laws. The old covenant impresses upon us our moral responsibility and the punishment for disobedience. This is not the type of relationship God desires but it is simply necessary to restrain evil and establish the authority of the law. Jesus rebuked His disciples when they sought to call fire down on the Samaritans who rejected Him. The same might be true for us.
Seeing God's wrath in its proper perspective takes faith in
the fact that God is what He says - love. It also takes a thoughtful look at
how that wrath is measured out. I close with the following texts that speak
of wrath as separation: "Ephraim [Israel] is joined to idols, let him alone"
(Hosea 4:17); "how can I give you up (11:8)"; "Who handed Jacob
over to become loot?" (Is 42:24); "I punished him, and hid my face
in anger" (Is 57:17); "Your iniquities have separated you from your
God; your sins have hidden his face from you" (Is 59:2); give them over"
(Isaiah 34:2); hand over to Satan I (Corinthians 5:5); Hand over to Satan (I
Timothy 1:20); "I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their
schemes" (Jer 6:19); rejected and abandoned (Jeremiah 7:29); withdrawn
my blessing (16:5); reconsider the good (18:10); show them my back(18:17); "I
turned away from her [Israel] in disgust" (Ez 23:18); and finally, left
them (Numbers 12:9).
Copyright Patrick Fagenstrom, 11/04, edited 2/07